


Heart It Races

by bellwetherr



Series: You & Me [2]
Category: The Last Kingdom (TV), The Warrior Chronicles | The Saxon Stories - Bernard Cornwell
Genre: Drabble, F/M, International Kissing Day, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:29:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25122439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellwetherr/pseuds/bellwetherr
Summary: Inspired by International Kissing Day and #TLKFanFicFestEalhswith never meant to fall in love.
Relationships: Ealhswith/Sihtric (The Last Kingdom)
Series: You & Me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1835563
Comments: 26
Kudos: 43
Collections: The Last Kingdom Fanfic Fest





	Heart It Races

**Author's Note:**

> A little late but have been wanting to write this moment for ages now. Hope you all like it!

It had been thirteen days since she last saw him- no, fourteen if she counted today- and as the sun was beginning to set, she did. She was pacing back and forth across the creaky wooden floorboards in her room, her eyes darting to the door every so often. She knew that Sihtric was in Winchester, had heard of his arrival from another client that morning- an older man of Alfred’s, a priest with gnarled fingers and wrinkles in places she wished she did not know. He had made an off-handed comment, not knowing what he would stir in Ealhswith when he said, “That Dane is in town, saw him and his men this morning- a dark bunch- invited to the wedding, no doubt-”

Sihtric was all she could think about after that. 

He was not a customer when they first met. He was young and inexperienced and all too obvious in the alehouse, his eyes following her with every move she made that night. And although it was certainly not the first time a man had ever looked at her- it was the first time she ever felt like it meant more than just a trip upstairs. There was something chaste about it, something shy- words she would not use to describe the men she typically spent her time with.

“If you want to talk, you need silver,” she said when he finally drummed up the courage.

She half expected that to be the end of it, the look of realization on his face stinging her in ways she did not think still affected her. But there he was a few hours later with silver filling his palm and a sheepish smile on his face. 

He demanded nothing of her, not her body nor her mouth - until it was all she wanted to give him. The hours they spent together tricked Ealhswith into thinking she was a free woman, tangled in bed with the man of her choosing, as they talked of their pasts, their present, what they wished for in the future. He talked of battles and bravery and men who would lay their lives down for each other. She told him secrets no one else knew, the bits of her she left behind with every new customer that came through her door. 

She had not meant to fall in love with him. 

There was a knock at the door, gentle, three taps that told her who it was on the other side. She rushed to it, her skin feeling warm with frustration as she yanked the handle and pulled the door wide open. There were wildflowers in his hand, some of the stems bent from the grip with which he held them. 

“I have found myself feeling very foolish waiting for you all day,” she breathed. 

“And if I come bearing news?” he asked, with a hitched brow. 

“You are only allowed to step through this threshold with  _ good _ news, Sihtric,” she told him sternly. “I have waited too long for you to hear anything otherwise.”

“I think you will want to kiss me, Ealhswith,” he said as a smirk quirked at his lips.

“Is that so?” she asked, tilting her head as she considered him, wishing her heart would calm itself as it beat rapidly in her chest. “Tell me why.”

“Would you rather I tell you in the hallway or in your bed?”

“That depends,” she started with a gleam behind her eyes. “Will you be telling me as my future husband or as another paying customer?”

He grinned as his hand reached for her, fingers curving around her waist as he closed the space between them and she wondered briefly how he had become this man, this confident and charming, how easy it was for him to draw a heat in her belly whenever he was near her. How much she wanted to bring him to her bed no matter his answer- 

“As your husband,” he murmured against her cheek as he drew her against his body. “Ealhswith, we have our blessing. We can get married tomorrow, now, whenever you wish, whenever gets you closer to being home with me.” 

“You promise?” she asked, reaching to hold his face in her hands, eyes intent upon his. 

“I promise,” he said and there was a giddiness to his vow. 

Her kiss was tender at first, something chaste as the words sunk in. But as the future they’d wished for started to feel real to Ealhswith, it became frenzied and wild as she drew him further into the bedroom, her laughter ringing against his lips as he kicked the door shut behind them, the wildflowers forgotten on the floor as he worked his hands at the ties of her dress. Her fingers were tangled in the fabric of his tunic when he broke from her, his breath steadying as he licked at his lips.

“I knew you would want to kiss me,” he grinned. 

She yanked at the waist of his trousers playfully, “And I am not finished-”


End file.
